Raison D'Extra - Dogfish Head Brewery

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BA SCORE
89
very good
-
749 Ratings

rAvg: 3.98
pDev: 15.83%
Reviews: 571
Hads: 178

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Dogfish Head Brewery

Delaware, United States

Style | ABV
Belgian Strong Dark Ale | 18.00% ABV

Availability: Rotating. bottle (556), on-tap (14), nitro-tap (1).

Notes:
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.

A bigger, bolder version of our Raison Raison D'Être.

This is a bulbous, brown ale brewed with a bunch of malt, brown sugar and raisins.

40 IBU

Reviews

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Reviews by mrasskicktastic:

mrasskicktastic

New Jersey

4.43/5 rDev +11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Drank from a snifter.

A - Pretty brown color, but alas, no head and no lacing. At such an abv, no wonder. It looks quite viscous. Sure, there is no lacing, but the beer itself clings to the sides a bit.

S - Smells strongly of figs and alcohol. A bit of oak, dates and grapes underneath. But the alcohol overpowers all, especially as it warms.

T - Delicious! It is sweet - very, very sweet. Somehow, it does not offend though. The strongest flavor is maple syrup. A bit of caramel, honey and very faint molasses amplify the sweetness. There is a potent date presence, as well as raisins and a little figs, slight vanilla and chicory as well. Great flavor! Abv stays masked until right near room temp. Impressive!

M - Best part of the beer. It is so viscous. It warms you as it goes down even though the alcohol is hidden. The smoothness is superfluidity in action. Amazing, simply amazing.

D - For such a sweet dessert beer, this is amazing. More than one of these in one sitting would be a terrible idea. Here's why: it would make you poor very quickly; it would make you sick very quickly; and, after one, could you truly appreciate the second? Considering the monsterous price tag and my frugal natute, it says a lot that I will gladly buy this again. Another winner from DFH.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2005 19:35:11 | More by mrasskicktastic

More User Reviews:

One2Remeber

Florida

4/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled 09/29/06. Thanks Steve.

A: No head, at all. Murky as could be. Dirty brown body with a bright ruby red/mahogany hue.

S: Tootise roll candy. Soft chocolate, chewey caramel, light toffee. Booze, metallic notes in undertone, really have to look.

T/M: Sherry-like, mouth puckering astringent bite. Really hard going down. Malts flavors are intensely unique and quite enjoyable.

O: May have aged just a bit too long. Booze is too hot to enjoy the evolved malt profile. Impressed for taking the shot. Would def try again and hope for different results.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2013 03:51:58 | More by One2Remeber

DrunkinYogi

Connecticut

4/5 rDev +0.5%

06-18-2013 03:45:30 | More by DrunkinYogi

vonnegut21

New York

4.5/5 rDev +13.1%

06-17-2013 18:25:34 | More by vonnegut21

Bluecane

North Carolina

4.5/5 rDev +13.1%

06-08-2013 02:45:30 | More by Bluecane

maxcoinage

Illinois

4.59/5 rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2007 Vintage acquired in a trade. Surprised to hear a nice carbonated sound when cracking it open. As I was pouring it then aroma was quite prevalent.

Poured into a snifter a dark brown color with a couple cm white head which dissipated quickly.

Aroma is fantastic - brown sugar, figs, dates, oak

Mouthfeel - fairly heavy and still a bit of carb, not as oxided as I would have expected.

Taste is just outstanding - similar to aroma- sweet, brown sugar, raisins, old port, definitely boozy

Finish is strong and hot. Enjoying this very much!

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2013 03:04:00 | More by maxcoinage

craftbeerasian

Florida

4.25/5 rDev +6.8%

05-30-2013 17:25:18 | More by craftbeerasian

stevec32

New York

4.25/5 rDev +6.8%

05-28-2013 00:09:18 | More by stevec32

madtrixter787

Virginia

4.25/5 rDev +6.8%

05-24-2013 04:59:03 | More by madtrixter787

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4/5 rDev +0.5%

05-20-2013 22:27:54 | More by Slatetank

smithj4

New York

4.5/5 rDev +13.1%

05-19-2013 02:45:33 | More by smithj4

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.01/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A: Pours a hazy dark reddish brown in color with minimal amounts of visible carbonation and some garnet red highlights. The beer has a minimal amount of light beige head that quickly reduces to a very thin ring at the edges of the glass. Minimal amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of dark fruits (raisins, prunes, and plums) and candi sugar.

T: Overall this beer is pretty sweet, with moderate to strong flavors of dark fruit malt sweetness with raisin, prune, and plum all making a strong presence. There is a strong presence of candi sugar as well which contributes to the overall sweetness.

M: Full bodied with light amounts of carbonation. Syrupy with light amounts of alcohol warming.

O: It is a shame that DFH stopped making this beer and continues to make the Raison D'Etre (the watered down version of this beer) - I would love to see DFH pull this one out once every 3-5 years as it is so much better. Nice amounts of complexity but it is not the easiest beer to drink as the alcohol is not as well hidden as would appeal to the masses.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 02:44:56 | More by dbrauneis